Page 50 of 40 and (Tired of) Faking It
The jab hurt, whether she meant it to or not. “That’s bullshit. I haven’t asked you to put me before anything in your life.” He wanted her to; he couldn’t deny that, not anymore. But he wouldn’t ask her to. This job meant too much to her. And she had too much integrity to do anything but her best at it, no matter who was in her life.
Lily bit her lip, her eyes closing for the briefest moment. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong.”
He reached for her then, clasping her arms lightly, wishing her skin was bare so he could feel her. She might not want him to touch her, here in so public a place, but he needed his hands on her in some small way or he might explode. “No, I’m sorry. You’re right.” He paused, staring at the gold flecks brightening her eyes. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
Behind him came the sound of the doors to the meeting room opening. Lily peeked around his shoulder. “We can talk later,” she said again.
He didn’t let go until she met his eyes once more, her own going green with impatience. For some reason that spark of fire made him happy. “Wewilltalk about things later.” He loosened his hold. “This deal is important, to all of us, but so are you.”
Surprise sparked in her eyes. Before she could speak, he stepped to one side and motioned for her to precede him toward the doors. As she walked past, her shoulders were drawn back, her spine straight, but damn if there wasn’t that slit he’d anticipated at the back of her skirt, giving him the barest glimpse of her thighs. He deliberately raised his focus to the back of her head, refusing to walk into a meeting this important with a hard-on.
Which was probably good considering the number of stares he got as he moved down the aisle between the seats. People sat, stood, milled about, but all of them were looking toward him. If anything, Lily became stiffer the farther into the room they went, and his fingers itched to find that low dip in her back, to place his hand right there where she was sensitive and give her his warmth, his support. But that wasn’t what she needed right now. She needed to stand on her own two feet. He understood, but the protective male in him didn’t like it.
The planning commission entered from one side of the room, Dwayne Prescott leading the way. JD took a moment to search the room for the man’s son, but Mason wasn’t showing his face, at least not yet. Thank God for that. JD might actually start a fight if the bastard said one word to Lily.
Behind Prescott came Iris and Kirk Daniels, along with four other members of the panel. JD had made phone contact with a couple of them, simply introducing himself, offering the time for questions, but the other two he hadn’t been able to touch base with due to scheduling conflicts. The fact didn’t worry him. He’d had a good proposal before, but now, with Lily’s input, he had a proposal he had zero doubt they would accept.
He took a seat in the front row beside Lily. When she threw a frown over her shoulder, surveying the crowd, he held still, refusing to move. The people of this town had better get used to him being next to her, because he intended to be there for a long, long time.
The planning commission came to order, Prescott first calling for meeting minutes, then introducing a couple of minor topics that no one seemed to show much interest in. Votes went quickly, and then they got to the meat of the night.
“Next we have the proposal for Black Wolf Resort. Mr. JD Lane presenting.”
JD stood and walked to a podium waiting at the front of the room to present himself before the committee. “Thank you for allowing me to speak, Mr. Prescott.”
“We see that you have submitted a revised proposal?”
“Yes.” JD reviewed the basics first, the transition of the land his family had owned from private property to business use, the various amenities he and his partners intended to build. As he spoke, murmurs behind him told him that community members were mulling over the ideas, whether in favor or opposed, he didn’t know.
Finally, after reviewing the original proposal, he came to the amended portion. “I’m sure you’re wondering how exactly this resort will benefit Black Wolf’s Bluff. There are concerns over the impact to the town, all of which are understandable. We hope to not only draw people to our facilities, but to drive them into town as well, to support the businesses you have here.” He gestured for Lily to join him at the podium.
Lily gave the panel an easy smile. “I’ve spent all week with this proposal, considering the pluses and minuses,” she began.
“And there are a lot of minuses,” someone yelled from the crowd.
Lily nodded, glancing back over her shoulder. “And I do intend to discuss those, Robbie,” she acknowledged the speaker, “because as you point out, the minuses are a very real concern. But after long discussions with Mr. Lane—”
“We are sure you’ve discussed plenty,” a man on the end of the panel murmured. Of course, he was sitting in front of a mic, a fact JD was certain the man was aware of. The comment drew even more murmurs from the crowd behind him, and when JD turned his head, he could see that Lily had gone stiff. That had him narrowing his eyes on the man who’d spoken. Corley, JD believed his name was.
“Excuse me?” Lily asked. JD was proud to notice she sounded as pissed off as he was.
The man gave her a smirk. “Don’t try to deny it. We know Lane’s been wining and dining you.”
The woman sitting next to Corley nodded in agreement.
“We assume you are backing this proposal from Mr. Lane,” Daniels interjected.
Lily tipped her chin in his direction. “With the additions Mr. Lane has included in the revised version, yes, I do. I think—”
“And what exactly are you getting out of throwing your support behind Mr. Lane?” Corley asked. “Money?”
“Attention?” Daniels added, his mouth a mocking slash.
“Plenty of attention,” a crowd member piped up.
JD had had enough. He zeroed in on Corley, giving him the look that had earned JD the reputation as a shark even in New York City. The man choked on his next words, and JD felt satisfaction curve his lips.
Lily’s breath had sped up, her hands squeezing each other so hard behind the podium, out of view of everyone but him, that they were white with strain. But when JD cleared his throat, determined to move on, she put up one of those hands. “No, I think the time has come to have this out.” She looked to JD, seeming to search for something, and reluctantly he gave way. The idea of Lily having to defend herself made him want to rage, but he stepped back from the podium nonetheless, allowing her to lead.
